The Hunt for Quan Chi
by Aaerial15
Summary: Takes place between Mortal Kombat 4 and Deadly Alliance. Quan Chi must suffer the consequences of revealing certain tragedies that happened to Scorpion. First in a series.


**The Hunt For Quan Chi**

**A Mortal Kombat Fanfic**

_Authors Notes: I do not own the characters in this story, just the situations involved. All characters are the property of Midway Games. That being said, Enjoy!_

In a stone tomb, a battle had been raging. The two combatants fighting were so evenly matched that the fight had been going on for well over an hour. As they continued to trade blows, the blue ninja shot ice from his hands. His opponent, a similarly clad ninja only in yellow, backflipped behind the blue ninja and attempted to kick him. "Not bad Sub-Zero," the yellow ninja complimented. Sub-Zero ducked his kick attempt and threw one of his own. "What does it matter Scorpion?" he asked angrily. "You started this fight, not me." Scorpion fell back as Sub-Zero connected with a front-side kick combination. "You did, actually," Scorpion soullesly replied. "What are you talking about?" Sub-Zero angrily demanded. Instead of answering, Scorpion merely disappeared into thin air. Sub-Zero knew better than to think that this fight was over, and remained on guard.

It did him no good however. Scorpion reappeared behind him just as quickly, striking him in the middle of the back with a full punch. He teleported again in front of his adversary, and as Sub-Zero was reeling from the hit to his back, he walked right into a powerful roundhouse kick from Scorpion. Unknown to the two, however, they were being watched. In the shadows of the tomb lurked a being who only appeared to be human. His skin was as white as the moon, and it bore dark tattooes in indecipherable languages. The being known as Quan Chi smiled as he witnessed the fight before him. These two ninjas had done his bidding nicely. Scorpion had finally beaten Sub-Zero to the point where he could not fight back, as the kick had knocked the blue clad warrior on his back.

Scorpion circled his fallen opponent. "By defeating you, Sub-Zero, I have avenged the death of my family and clan. Now my soul can finally rest." Sub-Zero tried painfully to raise, but could barely move. "Your soul will never rest, Scorpion. The Lin Kuei may have been responsible for your murder, but your family's true killer remains free." If he were not wearing a mask, a look of surprise and confusion would have been evident on Scorpion's face. "If you are not the murderer, then who is?" he questioned the fallen Lin Kuei. "I am the one you seek," an unknown voice replied. And with that, Quan Chi revealed himself to the exausted fighters. "To defeat my nemesis, Sub-Zero, I needed the power of a spectre." Quan Chi laughed as Scorpion clenched his fists. "You've done my bidding well, Scorpion. But now it is time to return you to the nether realm.

He began chanting in an arcane language, and gestured in Scorpion's direction. His spell was quickly working and there would not be much time before Scorpion was returned to Earth's Hell. Realizing this, Scorpion charged forward. "NEVER!" he yelled. Just as the hell-spawn faded from existence, he made contact with Quan Chi and both were transported to Earth's Hell. It was not an outcome Quan Chi had expected, nor was it one he wanted. Now that he had revealed himself to Scorpion, he was sure to feel his wrath. "NO!" he yelled as the two stood on a patch of ground surrounded by magma. Quan Chi looked at his surroundings and was surprised to find Scorpion nowhere in sight.

As if reading his thoughts, he was struck from behind without warning. Scorpion stood over the fallen sorceror and began administering a beating the likes of which had never been seen in all the realms. "Welcome to Hell," Scorpion said as he rained blow after blow down on Quan Chi. "I'll be your tour guide!" Scorpion said as he delivered a spining back kick to Quan Chi's face. The strength and speed of the blow caused Quan Chi to be knocked just out of physical reach. This was his chance he thought as he began gesturing and chanting. Normally, this would cause a green skull to launch forward to hit his target, but to his surprise, nothing happened. "It would appear that your powers don't function here, sorceror," Scorpion mocked. "Unfortunately for you, mine do!" Quan Chi barely had time to understand what this meant when a spear left Scorpion's palm to painfully strike him in the chest. Attached was a biological rope that seemed to be a part of Scorpion's hand. "GET OVER HERE!" Scorpion yelled and with one pull Quan Chi was right back into arms reach. He was met coming in with an uppercut that knocked no fewer than three of his teeth out.

"Not only that, they double in strength." Scorpion laughed as Quan Chi tried to retreat from his aggressor. Five minutes in Hell and Quan Chi was reduced to a bleeding piece of meat at Scorpion's feet. "Please, I beg you," the sorceror pleaded. "Have mercy!" he begged. Scorpion laughed on the inside like a kid in a candy store. "Ok, if you are sincere in your apology," Scorpion said. Relief washed over Quan Chi's face. It was quickly replaced by pain and fear as Scorpion kicked him once below the belt, once in the chest, and twice in the face. "Not!" Scorpion exclaimed with a laugh. "We have eternity together," Scorpion sneered. "And I can't think of a better way to spend it than by kicking your ass from one side of Hell to the other."

Sub-Zero came to in the tomb. He painfully got to his feet and looked around. 'Scorpion's nowhere to be found,' he thought. The last thing he remembered was Quan Chi saying he was his nemesis and confessing to Scorpion who murdered his family. Then he blacked out. He had no idea of course, what Quan Chi was talking about. He had only just learned about him when Rayden summoned him and the other earth warriors to fight Shinnok. Before then, he'd never heard of him. His first priority was to get out of the tomb he'd been fighting Scorpion in. He found a hole in the roof that led outside, and using ice as a propellant, he jumped up and out. He must have been out for hours, because he'd entered the tomb at night and it was morning now.

"Rayden!" he yelled. He had to talk to the thunder god. He had to find out what his connection to Quan Chi was, and he figured that Earth's protector would be able to shed some light on the subject. Sure enough, a lightning bolt struck ahead of Sub-Zero, and Rayden appeared. "You rang," the god quiped. "We need to talk," Sub-Zero replied. "Ok," Rayden said. "So Talk." Sub-Zero gave him the condensed version of the previous night's events. When he told Rayden that Quan Chi said he was his nemesis, Rayden suddenly got serious. "He thinks you're someone else," Rayden clarified. "But who," Sub-Zero asked. "The only other one I know of who can use ice the way I can and goes by Sub-Zero is..." "Your brother," Rayden finished. Sub-Zero looked at the god with confusion. He realized then how much he didn't know about his brother, Sub-Zero the Elder. "It's a long story," Rayden replied. "I'll tell you when we regroup with the others."

Quan Chi couldn't remember how long he'd been running. He'd finally managed to get away from Scorpion, albeit temporarily. He took a moment to examine himself, and realized how thrashed he was. It was as if he was bleeding from every orifice, every opening on his body. He had never felt such pain, and he'd been around for several millenia. He couldn't stop either, because every time he'd paused for even the briefest moment, Scorpion had caught up with him and thrashed him even more. Things were certainly not going to plan. When he revealed himself, it was to banish Scorpion so he could kill Sub-Zero himself. It did not matter to him that this was not the same person that had clashed with him so long ago. He knew they were related, and to him that made the younger one guilty.

"Come out, come out wherever you are," Scorpion's demonic voice said. Quan Chi realized that Scorpion was catching up with him. He decided to try and hide instead of running. It was his hope that Scorpion would simply think he wasn't here and move on. Most importantly, he had to get back to Earth. It was the only way he could truly escape Scorpion, and that's assuming that the hell-spawn didn't try to find some way to return to the land of the living as well. He knew his enemy's reputation. He was as good as marked. Scorpion was notoriously good at escaping from Hell for even the briefest period before being returned. As a matter of fact, Quan Chi was certain that if they were on the mortal plane, he would be dead considering his injuries. "You can't hide forever, sorceror!" Scorpion taunted.

Sub-Zero was taken aback. Rayden had explained a particular outing ten years before the tournament in which Liu Kang defeated Goro to become Mortal Kombat Champion. His elder brother had been hired by a sorceror to find the mythical map of the elements. To insure that the sorceror got what he seeked, he also hired a warrior from a rival clan known as the Shirai-Ryu. His older brother and the warrior who would become known as Scorpion had faced off in a temple where the map was believed to be located, and his brother had got the better of the situation. The other begged for mercy, but recieved none. "And then," Rayden had said, "when I realized exactly what Quan Chi was after, I sent your brother to stop him." What followed was a fantastic plot that ended up with the assasination of the current Grandmaster of the Lin-Kuei at the time by his brother.

It was unfortunate, Sub-Zero thought, that this same warrior was now known as Noob Saibot. If only Scorpion knew that his brother had no part in killing Scorpion's family and clan, he might not have pursued him so harshly. "You forget," Rayden said when Sub-Zero brought it to his attention. "Your brother killed Scorpion. Scorpion would have pursued him just to get even for that." Knowing how determined Scorpion was, Sub-Zero realized this was true. He remembered his own first encounter with the spectre, when Scorpion thought he was his brother. He had barely escaped Outworld with his life. He did not envy Quan Chi, no. He only wished he could get his own piece of the sorceror before Scorpion finished him off. It was only unfortunate that Quan Chi got what his brother tried to get back, the Amulet of Ages.

Quan Chi decided now was a good time to leave. As he left his hiding place, he barely dodged a fire blast and realized Scorpion was still there. "You don't give up, do you?" he yelled in frustration as he took off running. "You should know," replied the spectre. "You made me." With this, Scorpion teleported in front of Quan Chi and executed a sweep that floored his enemy and sent him skidding across the ground. Scorpion advanced on his quarry, who was helpless on the ground. Quan Chi tried to rise, but couldn't move. It was this that was the worst part of his current predicament. Scorpion didn't just brutalize you. He took his time doing it. There was no rush. He wanted you to think about every blow, every strike, even before you felt it. The anticipation of the pain he was about to experience was a form of mental torture that Scorpion executed to perfection. He was surprised, however, when no pain came.

Sub-Zero had returned to the Lin Kuei's new base of operations. It was located as close to the North Pole as physically possible. He had taken the role of Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei following Shao Kahn's failed attempt at taking over Earthrealm. He had got revenge for both himself and his friend Smoke when he froze his predecesor's heart in his hand. All of the remaining cyborg-ninjas were reprogrammed by Sektor and made up a new clan to oppose the Lin Kuei known as the Tekunin. He had recruited several new recruits into the clan, including a female who possesed his ability to manipulate ice. She called herself Frost, and he considered her his prodigy. He had the problem however that many of the clan's new members were untrained. He had converted the Lin Kuei as a force for good, and he never knew when that force would be needed to defend Earth. He could not do that with untrained warriors.

Scorpion had been hit by an iron club. Standing before him where two of the beings known as Oni. Scorpion didn't bother with pleasantries. He rushed right in, only to get knocked through a mountain by the bigger of the two. "You keeps him occupied," the smaller one said. The bigger one did not speak, but instead moved toward Scorpion. "We are Moloch and Drahmin," the one who stayed behind said. It took Quan Chi a while to realize that he was being spoken to. "Who are you?" the being in front of him asked. Quan Chi stood up and looked at the being. He wore a mask on his head, and everywhere driped viscera and gore. It appeared as though he were flayed. "I am Quan Chi," he replied. "I am a sorceror." "We know," Drahmin replied. Quan Chi was surprised. He had heard of Oni before. They were savage creatures who thrived on causing pain, misery and death to living beings.

The question was how Quan Chi could use this to his advantage. "We have followed your battle with the yellow one for a while," Drahmin said. "We were curious as to how powerful you are." Quan Chi laughed inside despite his injuries. This might be easier than he thought. "If I were on the mortal plane, My powers are near unlimited," the sorceror replied. "I am powerless here, unfortunately. You two are my only defense." He could not tell what Drahmin's emotions were, as he wore a mask. "We have a deal for you, sorceror," Drahmin said. Scorpion tried to kick the larger oni in the head. His blow did not even make the creature stagger. As he backflipped away, Moloch swung with his right arm. It was all Scorpion could do to avoid the blow. "Bothersome!" he exclaimed as he teleported and made a break for Quan Chi.

"If you can get us to the Mortal Realm," Drahmin said, "We will defend you from the yellow one." Quan Chi snickered. He'd never had the chance to manipulate oni before. Considering his options at the moment however, he decided to play honestly. "If you two can protect me from him, not only will I unleash you on the mortal world, I will offer you plenty of beings to consume. "We have a deal then sorceror," Drahmin said greedily. "But I warn you, betray us and the yellow one will seem like paradise in comparison to the tortures we will unleash upon your soul." As though to make his point, Moloch came behind Quan Chi and pounded the ground with his ball-arm, causing a mighty tremor. "We know a way to the surface world," Drahmin informed him. "Lead the way," Quan Chi replied eagerly.

Sub-Zero had been meditating for many hours now. His body felt better than it had after his fight with Scorpion. He considered searching for the spectre, but had no idea as to how to get to the netherworld. He continued to reflect on the current events when Frost entered his quarters. "Grandmaster," she respectfully began, "Our sentries have seen a Tekunin ship land close to the compound. It's Sektor himself." Sub-Zero wasted no time. "Gather all available warriors, Frost. I'd hoped that we could train more, but we have no time." Frost nodded. "Yes, master," she replied. "And Frost," Sub-Zero said sternly. "Yes master," she replied. "Do not engage Sektor himself. He is not like the bandits you sometimes face on patrol. Just try to keep his forces occupied." Frost was disappointed. She had been waiting for just this moment to prove her worth to her Grandmaster. Nevertheless, she replied, "Yes master," and left to obey his instructions.

The guards at the entrance to the Lin Kuei compound were thrown back suddenly as a missle struck the door. "Knock, Knock," a robotic voice said. Sektor stepped through the opening his attack had created. His red armor reflected brilliantly in the blue flames used to light the compound. No less than six of the Lin Kuei's veteran warriors rushed to attack. It was in vain, however. Sektor bent his wrists forward, and fire shot from his gauntlets. Four of his opponents were incinerated, while two managed to duck for cover. They drew katanas and charged the cyborg. "Oh good," he said. He pulled what looked like rods from his waist, and pressed a button on the top of either side. Red beams emited from the center, and with a twirl of his wrists, the remaining warrior's weapons were melted in half. Not knowing how to handle this situation, they tried to get away, but Sektor would not allow them to flee so easily. He swung one of his beam swords and dismembered both of them.

It was at this moment that Frost arrived. She began attacking his cybernetic troops as they entered. Sektor watched for a few moments. He then picked his spot. "I guess your master has better matters at hand, seeing as how he has a woman leading the defense of his compound," the cyborg taunted. This struck just the chord in Frost that he hoped it would. "My master is ten times the fighter you will ever be, robot!" she shouted angrily and with that she shot ice across the ground. Sektor appeared to disappear, and a second later Frost was wondering why she was in the air with Sektor's fist hitting her midsection. She crumpled to the ground in a heap, the wind knocked out of her. The square in the middle of Sektor's chest opened, and she could do nothing but brace herself for the missle that was sure to come her way.

"Sektor!" a voice shouted from out of nowhere. Sub-Zero had finally joined the battle. Sektor redirected his torso and fired the missle at Sub-Zero's feet, but the ninja wasn't there when the smoke cleared. As the cyborg turned his attention to Frost, someone grabbed the dread lock appendages in the back of his helmet and pulled. "Why don't you pick on someone my size?" Sub-Zero asked as he slammed an elbow into Sektor's chest, damaging the missle launcher. The cyborg didn't even register the blow, he just dropped to the ground and kicked, landing a blow squarely on Sub-Zero's forehead. Dazed, Sub-Zero fell back, nearly unconcious. Sektor raised one of his beam swords, prepared to strike the final blow.

His sword hit a green beam. Standing before him to everyone's surprise was the last cybernetic ninja in existence to not be a member of the Tekunin. "LK-4D4," Sektor replied in shock. He was answered by a roundhouse kick by the yellow cyborg that sent him rebounding into a punch from a recovered Frost. As he staggered from her blow, Sub-Zero came to and sweeped his legs out from underneath him. He was finished by a blow to his back by the intruder who yelled, "The name is Cyrax!" as Sektor retreated. What was left of his small army went with him. Sub-Zero got to his feet and immediately scolded his pupil. "I told you not to directly engage Sektor, did I not?" he demanded of Frost. She stood looking down. "Yes master, but-" "No buts!" Sub-Zero angrily cut her off. "We will discuss your punishment later. In the meantime, you can clean up this mess." "Yes, master," the girl replied as Sub-Zero led his unexpected but welcome guest into the compound.

Scorpion rose from the rubble. The larger oni had knocked him so hard he flew through five boulders. In Hell, however, he felt no pain, so he got up and began the pursuit of the sorceror. He made a mental note to rip Moloch's arm that had his ball and chain off the next time they met. It wasn't difficult to find out where they headed, as Moloch was so heavy he left large footprints. He cared not why oni were helping his enemy even though it wasn't their nature. He considered them obstacles to be dealt with after he had dealt with Quan Chi. It was obvious to Scorpion that he had to separate the three of them, however as no one had ever thrashed Scorpion like the oni had. He followed them silently for several hours. Finally he had an opening where Quan Chi was alone. "GET OVER HERE!" he yelled as he threw his spear. The sorceror made no attempt to dodge it, he merely smiled. At what would have been the moment of impact, Drahmin came out of nowhere, grabbed the spear, and pulled forward.

The next thing he knew, Scorpion was on his back. He barely dodged a blow from the oni's club-arm, and tried to fight back. He attempted a dragon sweep, but instead of triping his opponent, Drahmin slammed his club on Scorpion's leg. It was enough to temporarily cripple the hell spawn, even in Hell. And if that wasn't enough, Moloch bodily throwing him through another few boulders surely was. They had come to a large building, and during the fighting Quan Chi had crept in through the door. There was no light in this room, but he could feel his power returning. He made a chant, and suddenly he was surrounded by green light. He could barely make it out, but there appeared to be figures in the room with him.

It couldn't be. Quan Chi could still barely see in what little light there was in the room, but he recognized the figures in the room. He had the good fortune to come across the legendary lost army of the Dragon King. He was around long enough to be considered an expert in Outworld's history. The Dragon King was Outworld's previous emperor, before a servant by the name of Shao Khan poisoned him. When he died, his army seemed to disappear with him. It was rumored that the army was invincible. No force had faced them and won.

He recalled a prophecy that said whoever claimed the Amulet of Ages could take control of the Dragon King's army, provided they could transplant the souls of living warriors into the mummies. He made a note that when he escaped Scorpion, he'd need to seek out the assistance of one of the best in the profession of soul transfer. He needed the help of Shang Tsung. He looked around, and found a ladder that led to the ceiling. He decided to escape from Hell so that he could put his plan in motion. If things went his way, all of the realms would submit to his power.

"It's nice to see you free, my old friend," Sub-Zero said as he and Cyrax shared a meal in the grand hall of his compound. Cyrax had modified himself so that he did not have to wear his helmet constantly, and thus, he could eat and drink like any other human. He still could not remove certain components of the circuitry that made it so that he was required to eat and drink normally. In that respect, it appeared that this particular area of living was lost to him. "I have Sonya Blade and Jackson Briggs to thank for my freedom," the cyborg replied. "It was they who disabled the Lin Kuei's programming."

Sub Zero smiled. Cyrax could be a great ally to his cause. "Remind me to send a thank you to Sonya and Jax in the future," he said as they ate. Cyrax smiled. "I'll tell them you said hi when I return. I work for them now." The following hours were spent catching up. It was as if Cyrax had never once been one of Sub-Zero's deadliest enemies. Finally the hour grew late. Cyrax had accomplished what he set out to do, which was deliver information about Edenia's progress in fighting Shao Khan to Sub-Zero. The info came courtesy of the organization he now worked for, the Outer World Investigation Agency. "Go in peace, my old friend," he said as Cyrax left the compound. "And you too," the cyborg replied.

The oni and Scorpion battled for several hours. Scorpion was clearly on the losing end, so he decided to retreat. It was at this time that the oni noticed Quan Chi's absence. "It appears that your client has betrayed your trust," Scorpion taunted as he left. Drahmin let out a great roar. They could detect the sorceror's trail, so they quickly found the building he'd entered during the fighting. Scorpion realized he had the perfect pair of Quan Chi hunting bloodhounds. He decided to follow them in the shadows.

To be Continued.


End file.
